Sacrificial Love

If someone were to ask me to name foods I can live without… the top three on my list are probably the top three on my husband’s “Foods I Love” list. Steak, mushrooms, seafood. I can eat steak and sometimes I even enjoy it, but I have never craved it. Mushrooms, if mixed in with other things are virtually undetectable and therefore edible. Slap a large portabella mushroom on my plate, though, and it’s just not going to make it into this girl’s mouth. No matter how much I will myself to do it, it’s just not going in.

Seafood, however, will never cross my lips. It’s completely and utterly a psychological issue. They are creepy, crawly ugly things. We shove them in boiling water, toss them on a plate, crack open their exoskeleton and eat what’s inside. Personally, that makes my stomach turn. Repeatedly.

My husband, though, loves it. He practically trembles when we vacation in Chincoteague, VA because it means soft shell crab is on his menu at some point during the trip. I have ventured into the seafood realm far enough to make him some Balsamic Glazed Salmon… and even Shrimp Fra Diavolo for his birthday… but I must confess that I was slightly gagging while making both. (Which, in my mind, is just a testament to how much I love my husband. Right?)

Once in a while I’ll have a tender moment in Wegman’s Market when I feel sorry for my husband who has a wife who doesn’t cook some of his favorite foods. So I’ll grab some mushrooms and steak. This past weekend’s trip to the grocery store included one of those tender moments.

Hence, tonight’s dinner of Steak Stroganoff.

The beauty of this recipe is that it actually is two recipes in one. If you omit the very last ingredient (cream cheese) you have a lovely, slightly thickened mushroom gravy to pour over a perfectly grilled steak. Add the cream cheese and you have Steak Stroganoff!

My hubby thoroughly enjoyed his steak and mushrooms tonight. Do you think the fact that he isn’t sure when – or if - he’ll get this meal from his wife again may have made it even tastier for him? (Poor guy.)

Sacrificial love on both sides, isn’t it? He sacrifices some of his favorites for me… I sacrifice a settled stomach to cook things for him. *wink*

PS – I can’t conclude this post without telling you a scary truth: I really liked this meal. It was creamy and gentle and the steak was yummy. DON’T TELL MY HUSBAND.

Gluten Free Steak Stroganoff

1 (1 lb) flank steak

1 tsp oil

1 ½ Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 lb baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

2 bay leaves

¼ tsp dried thyme, slightly crushed

1 ¼ cups chicken broth or stock

1 tsp cornstarch

¼ cup water (or chicken stock)

4 oz cream cheese

In a large skillet, heat the ½ Tbsp butter and oil on medium-high heat. Cook the steak for 2 minutes on each side until browned. Remove steak, place on a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Lower the stove temperature to medium and add the remaining butter to the same skillet. Add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, bay leaves and thyme and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer on lower heat for 5 minutes.

In a small cup or bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water (or broth). Add to the mushroom mixture in the skillet and turn heat up to medium. Heat until the liquid thickens.

STOP HERE FOR MUSHROOM GRAVY… continue on for stroganoff.

Add the cream cheese, stirring until it melts. Discard the bay leaves.

Cut the flank steak across the grain into thin slices. Add the slices into the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes until the meat cooks through.

Serve over gluten free buttered noodles or rice. Serves 4.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Baseball. The All-American game. Picture the good ol’ boys with their caps over their hearts as the National Anthem plays. Fans in the stands get ready to cheer their team from the top of the first to the bottom of the ninth, each hoping for the chance to catch a game ball.

Stadium food has come a long way since the bag of peanuts and the hot dog. But still, there is something so traditional about certain foods. A soft pretzel. Popcorn. A corn dog.

Oh, man. Corn dogs. They are so incredibly bad for you… yet so very good. A nitrite stuffed hot dog dipped in cornbread batter and deep fried. Wow. That little dude should come with a defibrillator on the side. Heaven forbid someone eat more than one, considering one has about 19 grams of fat…

*shudder*

Yet, I love them. Haven’t had one in probably 10 years, though. I just couldn’t bring myself to put that much fat in my mouth. It actually grossed me out enough to stop me from wanting it.

Thankfully, I came across a recipe a few years back that satisfied my love of said corn dog, without the frying. I recently tried a gluten free version and found I like it even better than the original! To trim it down even more, try turkey hot dogs.

So the next time you curl up on the couch to watch the good ol’ boys, be sure to have a plate of this with you. You’ll have all the goodness of the game without your feet sticking to the floor and someone spilling a beer on you. Oh, and no traffic jams!

Gluten Free Corn Dog Bake

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup finely chopped celery

¾ cup finely chopped onion

1 package hot dogs (8 dogs)

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup Pamela’s Baking Mix

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 scant tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1/3 cup canola or veggie oil

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and sauté celery and onion until soft. Place in a large bowl, set aside.

Cut hot dogs into bite-sized pieces. In the same large skillet, sauté the hot dogs until lightly browned. Add hot dogs into the large bowl with the celery and onion, tossing to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, Pamela’s Baking Mix, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the egg, milk, oil and black pepper and whisk together until smooth.

Add the cornbread batter to the hot dog mixture and stir to combine. Add ½ cup of cheese to the cornbread mixture and stir. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

A Little Light Reading

In case you haven’t noticed, I love to bake. Although cooking is very high up on my list, baking will always been my first love. I still remember the year I received my very first cookbook, “The Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook”. I still have it. And up until my gluten intolerance diagnosis I was still using it now and again.

Thus began my love affair with cookbooks.

I read cookbooks like other people read a good novel – cover to cover. I love the photos, recipes, extra notes… I love it all! I love it for its practicality mixed with creativity. In the same book – in the same RECIPE – you can learn something brand new and be inspired to branch out and create something else. Love it!

I have what some might call… a large collection of cookbooks. There are the ones I keep handy for reference and inspiration. Those are kept in an easily accessible place. But then there are the completely outrageous… or old and sentimental… or professional level books that I keep just for fun. Just to read and soak up and learn new terminology or techniques. Out of most of those – OK, all of those - I will never, ever cook even one recipe. I just love to read them.

A little odd? I prefer to call it passion.

So what is a girl to do with cookbooks full of wonderful recipes that technically are taboo for GF people? Did you guess “play around with those wonderful recipes until you nail a delicious dessert that will knock the socks off of people”? You are absolutely RIGHT!

This one is unbelievable. I made this dessert for a dinner party at a friend’s house and one of the guests who happens to be a good friend gave probably the best possible review of my dessert. She said, “I don’t like cheesecake, Katie. And I don’t really like pretzels. But I love this!” Was she just being nice, you ask? When I asked if she wanted to bring some home her eyes lit up and she eagerly said “yes!”. I’m thinking she was in earnest.

If you love salt and sweet together… this is one dessert you are going to luhhhhhhhh-uhve. Word of caution, though. Use great restraint. If you bake this cheesecake just to have around the house you’ll pick, pick, pick until – voila! – it’s gone. And you and I both know that it won’t really be gone. It will be with you for weeks to come, if you get my meaning. So share the love – bake this one to bring to a get-together at a friend’s house. It will keep your waistline status quo and your friends happy.

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cheesecake

1 cup gluten free pretzel crumbs (crush 1 ½ to 2 cups of GF pretzels into crumbs)

3 Tbsp brown sugar

4 Tbsp butter, divided

8oz GF semi-sweet chocolate

4 8oz bars cream cheese, brought to room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 Tbsp GF all-purpose flour

1 ½ Tbsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 ½ GF pretzels, broken into bite-size pieces

4 oz GF semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover the outside of a 9” or 10” spring form pan with aluminum foil and place in a large, shallow baking pan. In a small bowl, mix together pretzel crumbs, 3 Tbsp melted butter and brown sugar. Press into the bottom of the spring form pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

In small glass mixing bowl, melt the 8oz chocolate in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir and cook for another 15 seconds. Stir again. If needed, continue to cook in 15 second increments, stirring after each time, until the chocolate is completely melted. On a piece of wax paper spread the 1 ½ cups of broken pretzel pieces. Pour the chocolate over the pieces and toss to coat. Refrigerate until set.

In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the sugar, GF flour and vanilla. Beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed. Add the sour cream and beat on low speed.

Remove chocolate covered pretzels from the refrigerator and break up into bite-size chunks by hand. Add to the cream cheese mixture and fold to incorporate. Pour into the prepared spring form pan and smooth the top. Pour enough very hot water (boiling not necessary) into the large, shallow baking pan to cover the bottom half of the spring form pan. Bake, in the water bath, for 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Allow baked cheesecake to sit for 10-15 minutes then run a knife around the rim of the pan to help loosen the cake. Allow cheesecake to cool completely, then refrigerate for 8 hours.

To decorate, sprinkle extra crushed pretzel crumbs on top. Melt chocolate chips and 1 Tbsp butter in the microwave on high for 30 seconds, repeating the same steps used to melt the chocolate for the pretzels. Drizzle the melted chocolate-butter mixture over the top of the cheesecake and extra pretzel crumbs.

The Multi-Tasker

I miss sandwiches. I know there are alternative breads out there for me to use, but the truth is I just don’t love them. I will say this, though. Udi’s Sandwich Bread makes pretty good toast. And The Grainless Baker’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread does as well. But to have a good ol’ ham and cheese sandwich on bread just isn’t the same. Rice-based bread is either sweet (and in my opinion, the sweetness works against a deli sandwich) or rather rough. There have been times where the inside of my mouth has actually gotten scraped up from the roughness of the bread.

No thanks.

So, in the quest to find alternatives to the alternative breads, I’ve had to get rather creative. The first attempt was inspired – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – by McDonald’s McGriddle Sandwich. Could I use two small pancakes to make an egg and cheese sandwich? I must say, it wasn’t shabby. Sure, it didn’t taste like white bread… but it was soft and squishy. I love soft and squishy.

After a while, I gave up on anything bread-like and just made ham and cheese roll-ups… complete with a pickle in the middle. It was a nice change for lunches, but rather boring.

Then I stumbled across The Multi-Tasker. Buttermilk Biscuits. Salty, crisp outside… light and soft inside. They can be your “toast with jam” in the morning, or your egg and cheese sandwich. They can be your “english muffin” with peanut butter or your companion for a bowl of beef stew. Yes, they can even be your ham and cheese sandwich!

Explore the world of sandwiches with the buttermilk biscuit. That baby will take on many forms and fulfill that empty, sad place in your heart where you thought only squishy bread could live. Alright, so I’m getting a little dramatic… but you get the point.

Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits

½ cup potato starch

½ cup corn starch

¼ cup tapioca starch

¼ cup brown rice flour

1 ¾ tsp xanthan gum

1 Tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup cold butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes

¾ cup buttermilk

2 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray or line the baking sheet with a Sil-pat.

In a food processor, pulse together the potato starch, corn starch and tapioca starch, brown rice flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt until thoroughly mixed.

Drop the butter cubes over the starch mixture and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Turn the food processor on and pour the buttermilk in as it churns, until well incorporated.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of wax paper lightly dusted with white or brown rice flour. Using your hands, pat down the dough to about an inch high. Cut out biscuits with round biscuit cutter and transfer to the baking sheet. (It helps to flour the cutter as well.) Cut out as many circles as possible, then gather up the dough and pat it down again to one inch. Repeat the process until all dough is used.

Bake for 25 minutes. Immediately after removing from the oven, brush twice with melted butter.

My Italian Roots

I grew up in New Jersey where I had the privilege of eating around my Italian grandfather’s table quite frequently. He was a hard-working man who came to this country and loved it for everything it stood for. He was proud to be an Italian – but just as proud to be an American!

Perhaps one of the reasons I still love Italian food as much as I do is because of those times spent around that table. I can still remember the smell of homemade sauce simmering on the stove that would greet us as we walked in the back door. It’s more than just the taste of delicious red sauce over perfectly al dente pasta… it’s the memories that go along with it.

On my refrigerator I have a saying that I absolutely love. When I first found it, I felt as though someone else had reached into my head, pulled the words out and placed them on paper.

“When I walk into my kitchen today, I am not alone. Whether we know it or not, none of us is. We bring fathers and mothers and kitchen tables, and every meal we have ever eaten. Food is never just food. It’s also a way of getting at something else: who we are, who we have been and who we want to be.” *

I read it often these days. I hope that one day my own kids will talk of the memories attached to the aromas in their mom’s kitchen… how warm chocolate chip cookies smelled of comfort and how, no matter where they go, the smell of garlic and tomato sauce always reminds them of home.

It would be a lovely legacy to pass on from my grandparents… through me… to my kids.

Gluten Free Baked Spaghetti

16oz gluten free spaghetti (I used Tinkyada)

1 lb ground beef

3 Tbsp dried minced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar (24-26oz) meatless gluten free spaghetti sauce

½ tsp seasoned salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup parmesan cheese

5 Tbsp butter, melted

2 cups ricotta cheese

3-4 cups shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Boil a large pot of water and cook gluten free spaghetti according to package.

While the spaghetti cooks, cook the ground beef in a large skillet. When the beef is almost completely browned, drain the fat and add the minced garlic and dried onion. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and warm through.

Rinse cooked spaghetti thoroughly with cold water. In the emptied pot used to cook the pasta, add the melted butter and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Add the pasta back into the pot and stir. Add the eggs and toss to coat pasta thoroughly.

Pour half of the pasta into the 9x13 baking pan and spread out into a thin layer. Top with half of the ricotta cheese (spread ricotta to cover), half of the meat sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Pour remaining pasta over the top and repeat the layers. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

*Excerpt from “A Homemade Life” by Molly Wizenberg

A Love Affair

I love lemon. Anything lemon. I love it enough that 9 times out of 10 I will choose it over chocolate. Yes, you read that right. It is so refreshing and lemon desserts are usually lighter than their chocolate counterparts. I love the pop of the tartness on my tongue mixed with the sweetness. Basically, you can throw anything lemon at me and I’m going to love it.

Enter lemon squares. I want to hug the person that came up with lemon squares. Delightful, buttery shortbread morsels topped with lemony goodness. How can you go wrong? Place a lemon square on a plate alongside a cup of Lady Gray tea and I’ll call it the perfect teatime. After dinner with a glass of milk and you’ve got the perfect light dessert after a rich meal. Heck, put one on a plate all by itself first thing in the morning and I’ll call it breakfast!

Did I mention I love lemon?

Once I decided to go on the quest to create gluten free replicas of “regular” food, I knew lemon squares would be on that list somewhere. It’s not as easy as you think. Mostly, the shortbread is the tricky part. I don’t like the shortbread of a lemon square to be so crispy that is snaps… although there is nothing wrong with a plain old piece of butter-laden shortbread. Nothing at all. A lemon square, though, is a delicate, almost fragile dessert that melts in your mouth. (Are you drooling yet?)

This recipe does a pretty good job of fitting that drool worthy description. Tart-sweet lemon curd on top, melt in your mouth buttery shortbread on the bottom. I highly suggest keeping them in the fridge. A cold lemon square is as refreshing a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer day!

Did I mention I love lemon? Just want to make sure the subtle theme of this post came through.

I love lemon.

Gluten Free Lemon Squares

2 sticks cold butter

½ cup powdered sugar

2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour (I used King Arthur)

4 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ Tbsp grated lemon zest

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

1 Tbsp corn or tapioca starch

½ tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.

Cut sticks of butter into tablespoon size pieces. In the food processor, pulse together the butter, powdered sugar and flour until the butter is broken down into pea size pieces. Dump the mixture into your prepared pan and press it down with a flat spatula until flat and even. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the shortbread is baking, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, juice, cornstarch and baking powder until smooth. When the crust comes out of the oven, immediately pour the lemon mixture over the crust and return to the oven. Bake 20-25 minutes until the center jiggles just slightly but is set.

Do not cut until completed cooled. I recommend cooling completely on the counter, then refrigerating until chilled. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

A Very Cherry Discovery

Yesterday I gave my friend a tour of Wegman’s Market from a gluten free point of view. She recently realized she was having issues with gluten and is in that difficult time of figuring out what is safe to eat… and what is NOT safe to eat! It was wonderful to walk along with her, chatting, and sharing my information. She’s a comfortable friend… the sort of person with whom grocery shopping together feels perfectly natural.

As we walked into the produce section, I glanced at the lovely cherries once again (see my post entitled “Cherries, Cherries Everywhere…” for more info), but sighed to myself. My last endeavor was, to say the least, slightly aggravating. The recipe itself was simple. It was the process of removing each and every pit from those juicy cherries that drove me batty. I ended up with a beautiful cherry crisp… and grossly stained fingers and fingernails.

So as I glanced at the cherries with my friend, I quickly dismissed the idea of attempting another cherry dessert. Sure, my husband loves them… and I love to make things he loves. But the labor and staining from the last dessert still lingered in my mind. Slowly, my eyes wandered over to the barrel next to the cherries. There, tucked in the back of the barrel was a sign that read: “Cherry Pitter, $12.99.”

Life is not the same, folks.

I’m not huge on kitchen gadgets. I like a good, sharp knife. Measuring cups and spoons. Once in a while I’ll get out the old garlic press instead of mincing my garlic by hand. But I can honestly say that if you are a cherry lover… you must go right now (wait – finish reading first) and get yourself a cherry pitter.

My handy dandy new little friend pops that pit out like it’s nobody’s business. It literally took a sliver of the amount of time it took me last time to pit and cut up four cups of cherries. In fact, this time my 7-year-old daughter did it for me… and it STILL took only a sliver of the amount as last time.

Run. Now. Buy yourself a cherry pitter… and some cherries, while you're at it. And since you'll need a reason to use your brand new cherry pitter... how about a Cherry Cobbler?

Cherry Cobbler

1 ½ cups plus 1 ½ Tbsp gluten free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur brand)

¾ tsp xanthan gum

1 ½ cups sugar, divided

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

1 ½ sticks butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cups milk

4 cups of pitted cherries, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 ½ cups of flour, xanthan gum, ¾ cup of sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk in the egg, melted butter, vanilla and milk until smooth.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cherries, remaining ¾ cup of sugar and 1 ½ Tbsp of flour. Dump the cherries into the baking pan and spread evenly.

Pour the batter evenly over the cherries.

Bake until slightly browned on top, about 45-50 minutes. Cool 10-15 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream… or plain!